Legal and Regulatory Information
Lewis Silkin is an international legal practice carried on by Lewis Silkin LLP and its affiliated firms.
Details of our offices can be found on our homepage. Lewis Silkin operates as separate legal entities in England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Hong Kong, each carrying out legal services in accordance with relevant laws and professional regulations. References to “Lewis Silkin” mean Lewis Silkin LLP and its affiliated firms.
Our principal address is Arbor, 255 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 9AX, and we can be contacted by emailing info@lewissilkin.com or by telephone +44 (0) 20 7074 8000.
1. Country specific information
England and Wales
Lewis Silkin LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC317120. We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("SRA"). Our SRA number is 439493. You can contact us by emailing info@lewissilkin.com. You can access the rules by which we are regulated here.
The terms “partner” with reference to Lewis Silkin LLP, means a member of Lewis Silkin LLP, or a consultant or employee with equivalent standing. It does not indicate that any person is conducting business in partnership under the Partnership Act 1890. A list of the members of Lewis Silkin LLP is open to inspection at its registered office at Arbor, 255 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 9AX. Members are either solicitors or registered foreign lawyers.
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) to carry on any regulated activities (as defined by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) and so if you require advice in connection with regulated activities such as investments, we may refer you to a person who is authorised by the FCA to give that advice. However, as we are regulated by the SRA, we are able to engage in certain limited regulated activities where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you. As we are registered with (but not authorised by) the FCA we can carry on insurance distribution activity (which is, broadly, advising on, selling and administering insurance contracts). This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by the SRA. The FCA’s register can be accessed via the FCA website at www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-services-register.
Addresses
London: Arbor, 255 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 9AX
Oxford: King Charles House, Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1JD
Manchester: 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M4 4BE
Leeds: St Pauls House, 23 Park Square South, Leeds, LS1 2ND
Cardiff: Southgate House, Wood Street, Cardiff, CF10 1EW
Northern Ireland
Lewis Silkin (N.I.) LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in Northern Ireland incorporated under number NC001663. We are authorised and regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland with firm reference number 2780. You can contact our Northern Ireland office by emailing belfast@lewissilkin.com.
Address: The Linenhall, 32-38 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8BG.
Republic of Ireland
Lewis Silkin Ireland LLP is a partnership authorised and regulated by the Law Society of Ireland. Our registered number is F9254. You can access the rules by which we are regulated here. You can contact our Dublin office by emailing Ireland@lewissilkin.com.
Address: Fitzwilliam Court, Office Suite 505 – 506, 2 Leeson Close, Dublin D02YW24, Ireland
Hong Kong
Lewis Silkin Hong Kong is a Hong Kong partnership registered with the Chinese name 世勤律師事務所. Our business registration number is 5528001-000-04. We are regulated by the Law Society of Hong Kong. You can access the rules by which we are regulated here. You can contact our Hong Kong office by emailing info@lewissilkin.com.
Address: Lewis Silkin, Unit 1302, 13/f Dina House, Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central Hong Kong
2. Complaints
If you have any concerns in relation to the services we have provided to you, including any complaint about any of our bills, then please let us know. Concerns can often be resolved by informal discussion with the partner responsible for your matter or with your client partner and we aim to deal with concerns in this way wherever possible. If in any particular case resolution cannot be reached through informal discussion, you may wish to make use of our formal complaints procedure, which is available here and/or on request.
3. Prescribed time periods for making an application to Court for assessment of a bill (England & Wales only)
If you are not satisfied with the amount of a statute bill we deliver to you, we draw your attention to your rights set out in section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (the “Act”) a copy of which can be found here.
The Act specifies time periods within which you must make an application to Court for assessment of a bill. If you fail to apply within these prescribed periods, you may lose your right to ask the Court to order that the bill be assessed. The relevant prescribed periods can be summarised as follows:
(a) within one month from the delivery of the bill which you have not paid (in which case the Court will order that the bill is assessed and that no action can be taken by us until the assessment has been completed);
(b) after one month, but within 12 months, from the delivery of the bill which you have not paid (in which case the Court has a discretion to order that the bill is assessed and that no action can be taken by us until the assessment has been completed, but is not obliged to grant such an order);
(c) within 12 months of the date of payment of the bill or more than 12 months after delivery of the bill which you have not paid (in which case the Court is only entitled to make an order for assessment if you satisfy the Court that there are ‘special circumstances’).
There is however no power for the Court to order an assessment after the expiry of 12 months from the payment of the bill.
4. SRA Transparency Rules (England & Wales only)
Under the the SRA’s Transparency Rules, we are required to ensure that clients have the information they need to make an informed choice regarding legal service providers, including understanding what costs may be incurred in relation to certain types of service. The information for the relevant services we provide can be accessed via the links below:
Last updated 12 August 2021